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Who Dey Revolution Manifesto

Preamble

IN THIS TIME of perpetual Cincinnati Bengals incompetence and futility, with zero playoff wins in the nineteen seasons since the WhoDeyRevolution Godfather, Paul Brown, passed away in 1991 and handed the team to his fortunate son, the Despot, Mike Brown;

Introduction

WE, the members of the Who Dey Revolution, in our fervent dedication to the Cincinnati Bengals and fanatical desire to transform our hometown team into perpetual Super Bowl contenders, call for a popular revolution of fans to demand comprehensive reform to the managerial decisions and approach of Cincinnati Bengals ownership, management, staff and players, and hereby call for the adoption of the following Who Dey Revolution Manifesto:

Manifesto Demands

THAT the Mike Brown, Katie Blackburn, Marvin Lewis, along with every other member of the Bengals management, staff and personnel, state publicly to all Bengals fans, “I will do everything in my power to help the Cincinnati Bengals win a Super Bowl;”

THAT Mike Brown will hire a general manager, drastically expand the scouting department and relinquish all control of player personnel;

THAT all training, rehabilitation and medical facilities are considered best-in-class compared to other NFL teams;

THAT the management fill the team only with players who fit the system, both mentally and physically, and are not reluctant to makes changes to player personnel when needed, regardless of cost or loyalty concerns;

THAT offensive and defensive line depth is considered the top priority for all player personnel decisions;

THAT all decisions made by ownership, management, staff and players, both on and off the field, are judged only by this criterion: “Does this help the Cincinnati Bengals win a Super Bowl?”

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November 17, 2009

Five Reasons Against Larry Johnson

Although not official yet, it appears that the Bengals will sign former
Chiefs' running back Larry Johnson, likely as insurance in the case
Cedric Benson's hip injury worsens. This, folks, isn't a good move. It
isn't one that will kill the team (or at least I hope not), but still,
even if Larry gets a minimum-NFL contract, I'm strongly against it.
Here's why:

1. Larry Johnson's AgeThis week, Johnson will turn thirty years old. Sure, the effect aging has on a running back
once he's thirty has been overstated, but there is still a clear trend
towards decline after the age of twenty-eight. Especially considering
Johnson's impressive but damaging attempt numbers during his Kansas
City days (416 carries in 2006), the chances of him going back to even
a decent Y/A of 4.3 or slightly below are poor.

2. Larry Johnson's PerformanceThis correlates with
reason number one, obviously. Johnson, since 2005, has been a player
who has either benefited from a large number of carries, leading to
deceptive counting stats, or has been out because of injury. Frankly,
Johnson has proven that even when he is "on" -- and obviously the bar
has been set lower for what is considered good performance from him, on
account of his age and injuries -- his value lies primarily in being
able to handle a heavy load. Besides that, Johnson really isn't a great
pass blocker and hasn't made an impact as a receiver since '06. If
Marvin Lewis, during his press conference today, was truthful in his
claim that Larry would serve as the fourth running back, it seems to me
that not taking advantage of his one noticeable quality would make the
risk the Bengals would make signing Johnson unnecessary and foolish.

3. The Bengals' Offensive PhilosophyBob Bratkowski, for
as much crap as we give him, has focused on running the football this
season. This is evident in the many unbalanced lines and two
tight-end/full-back sets we've seen the offense come out in.This makes
life easier for the running back, who not only gets holes created for
him, but also acquires assistance in the second level of a defense.
Because of these favorable conditions, one might think that the Bengals
don't have to risk money and a roster spot just because a guy could
have some talent left. This situation simply does not necessitate
drastic moves, as the running game should be kept afloat even without
Benson or another premier back due Brat's heavy run-blocking schemes.

4. The Overall SituationWhen would the Bengals need
insurance at running back? On its surface, that's an absurd question;
no team really knows when they'll need their insurance-type players.
But looking further into it, this seems to be the time for Marvin to
use backs besides Benson, for a variety of reasons. Benson's hurt, and
given the amount of carries he's gotten so far this season and the weak
slate of opponents scheduled for the next three weeks, handing the ball
off to him in excess of ten to fifteen times in these upcoming games
isn't ideal or smart. Larry Johnson, even if he signs now, probably
won't be able to play yet; he'll have to sit out at least one or two
games in order to study and master the playbook, especially with his
responsibilities in the offense's unique zone-blocking runs. Bernard
Scott and Brian Leonard should therefore receive their fair share of
touches, whether Johnson is signed or not, in November, meaning that by
the time Larry is fully aware of how to run effectively in the offense,
Scott and/or Leonard should be settled in and able to handle a heavier
load. If Lewis and Mikey Boy are looking to plug in someone new right
now, or at least add stable depth, why not bring someone who already
knows what to do in? Why not DeDe Dorsey?

5. Chemistry, Image, Teamwork, EtcReally, do I need to
spend time on this? We all know what Johnson has done, and we all know
the risk he brings. Based on the above, I don't see the point in
potentially damaging the team by bringing him in. No, I'm not one who
believes in team obliterators (wow, that
abbreviates out to TO-- you're a clever one, Skip Bayless); the notion
that one man can bring fifty-two other players down seems like the
material an analyst devoid of any actual insight brings. But still, I
don't completely ignore the problems a troubled player can spread.
Mikey Boy shouldn't either.

All decent points, but let me tell you why I am less upset about this signing than you are. (I am leery, but not totally against it)
1. Scott's dinged with a knee issue, and Leonard is a (great) third down back, but a third down back all the same, not a load carrier. Therefore, I would like to see a light load for all three backs this week if Benson plays, no more than ten carries a pop, this can work with three backs as we can still go run heavy without risking too much.
2. Aside form the O-line (this is pure conjecture but I think accurate all the same) RB is the most likely position to be hit with injuries, and depth is never a bad thing, especially when the depth at the bottom has shown he can carry a load, which brings me to my next point
3. Larry is gonna sit largely at the bottom unless his services are needed (hopefully not, annoyed with the parentheses though?)
4. I REALLY like Dede, I wanted to keep him, as well as leonard and scott, and I was initially very excited about it when he went practice squad. But Dede is a change of pace back, not a guy you can give the ball to twenty times a game. In other words, we have NO bell cow type back after Benson, and as I said earlier, the three headed monster is something i don't want to have to use out of necessity during a playoff run.

Again, I am leery about this, and as I said in a thread yesterday, Whit, Carson and Bobbie better be willing to knock this cat down a few pegs if necessary, I have heard too many good things about the chemistry in this locker room to not be worried about the effect larry might have. I hope my worries are unfounded. I also hope he never has to touch the ball more then two times per game.

I think it good move on the Bengals side u need somebody to help when Benson is tried after running then u put Scott in there also put Benson & Johnson in the back the defence won't know who getting the ball.

Again, if I'm DeDe, I don't want to come back to the Bengals. I wouldn't make much more (if any more) as their third or fourth stringer, and I'm almost guaranteed to be waived again. Why not make the same cash, not have to move, and be a total stud in the UFL? For all we know they reached out to DeDe and he said "Cut me once, shame on me. Cut me twice, shame on you. Cut me three times, and I swear I will cut you back."

Almost every good running team has two 'workhorses' in the backfield. Miami, Baltimore, New York (giants). While LJ is getting old and has very little production, what if Cedric goes down again toward the end of the season? Do we want Bernard scott (as much as i love him) carrying 20 times+ a game? I'll give him a shot, and hope the bengals run a few 2-back-sets, or even the wildcat once or twice a game with LJ and Cedric.

Great point. Nobody is saying anything about Ricky Williams being too old in Miami. Dude has had a Renaissance of his career and is playing damn good ball right now. Nobody realizes that the LJ move was made for the playoffs and for the 3 other AFC West teams that they still have to face. He'll be a decent citizen for half of a season and will probably only contribute here or there, but I'd rather have an insurance policy like LJ on the 53 man roster than a waste of space like Orien Harris.

What you guys apparently don't understand is that the Wildcat works best if one of the guys in the backfield can throw the ball, because it adds a whole new dimension to the formation - will they run with a direct snap to the running-only running back, run with a direct snap to the throwing running back, or throw with the throwing running back?

To date, neither LJ nor Ced have shown that ability, so putting both of them in the backfield wouldn't be much different than putting Ced and Leonard back there, other than the fact that Leonard has blocked as a fullback before, while LJ hasn't shown he can block AT ALL.

That's true concerning the blocking, but I'm not saying that Benson and lj have to be out there at the same time, just that having them in the backfield on the Depth Chart would probably help the offense.

Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, for example in New York.

Ray Rice and Willis McGahee in Baltimore.

Even though most of those guys can and do block, their running game, especially at the goal line in the singleback is still good. If Benson's hip acts up again, or he didn't give it enough time to heal and goes out, I'd rather have Brian Leonard blocking for LJ than for Bernard Scott at 3rd-and-goal on the 1-yard-line.

Quoting your post here, buddy: "I'll give him a shot, and hope the bengals run a few 2-back-sets, or even the wildcat once or twice a game with LJ and Cedric."

So, you did say have them on the field at the same time, hence my comment. Had your comment just said depth chart, I wouldn't have addressed you. Even still, it's nothing personal, just trying to better understand your position.

I don't completely hate this move because it gives us someone who can go in and take a beating towards the end of these next slate of games when we should have a sizeable lead and just want to run out the clock and end the game. So his slumping performance won't be that big of a deal because most RBs at that point in the game won't be getting more than 3 yards per carry when the other team knows a run is coming.

This problem arose against Chicago when Cedric had to come back into the game after a B. Scott injury and ended up with 37 carries even though the game was over by halftime, if not earlier. Giving your stud back 37 carries in a blowout win is not the best way to ensure that you keep playing into late January.

Another thing is that we still have games against the Raiders and Chargers (two teams that LJ knows well from playing them twice a year) as well as a week 16 date with KC which could possibly have some seeding/homefield implications.

Finally, it give Hobson the opportunity to use the awesome "Bengals fire depth charge" headline